What to use on the opener?
Typical early season walleye lures include small jigs and slip-sinker livebait rigs tipped with minnows. One key to increasing an angler’s odds for success using these lures is picking the “right” minnow to use.
In lakes like Ottertail, where shiner minnows are a preferred early season forage base, tipping with these popular minnows to “match the hatch” is solid advice.
Some smaller, shallow lakes, however, do not have an abundance of shiners. In these lakes other minnows, like the common fathead, are good choices. In fact, many of the small, shallow lakes common here in western Minnesota are “fathead lakes,” where using these minnows will put as many, if not more, walleyes in the boat as the more expensive and harder to keep alive shiners.
The two minnow choices mentioned are “typical” opening day walleye baits. However, 2012 appears to be far from typical as ice-out occurred very early. The result could be abnormally warm water, which could make other live bait choices a 2012 opening day necessity.
Leeches and nightcrawlers are generally considered warm water baits that anglers often switch to during early summer. Fishing these baits on jigs or rigs is often productive, though a bottom bouncer weight pulling a spinner or live bait snell is another good ways to present these baits.
With early ice out and a warm spring, it will probably be good advice to have leeches, crawlers, and minnows in the boat and let the walleyes tell you which they prefer. I start most openers with a wide selection of baits and think this may be even more important this year.
Regardless the baits chosen, a key to walleye success is keeping that bait fresh and lively. As a fishing guide, I use the motto, “the best bait catches the most fish”. For that reason, I use Frabill’s Min-O-Life aeration systems for keeping my minnows lively and their crawler and leech containers to keep those baits at their best. Paying a bit of extra attention to my live bait care often yields dividends in the form of “walleye gold.”
As always, rigs and jigs should be good walleye baits on the opener. A key, however, will be choosing the right live bait to fish on those lures. Following some of the suggestions offered here can help anglers make those decisions and hopefully put good catches of walleyes in the boat on May 12.
Good luck on opening day!
Photo – This 2011 early season walleye fell for a Fire-Ball Jig tipped with a minnow. 2012 will probably require anglers to keep an open mind when selecting early season walleye baits.
Simple Spring Panfish!
By Mike Frisch
Spring is an awesome time of the year for those of us who love to fish for panfish. The first open water of the season into early summer offers dynamite shallow water action for bluegill and crappie. An added bonus is that this fishing is pretty simple, both in terms of finding fish and the methods used to land them.
Spring panfish make shallow water migrations to feed and later to spawn. One good thing about this fishing is that some of the shallow areas they migrate to are easily accessible by shore anglers. Marinas, canals, and shallow bays warm quickly in the spring drawing ‘gills and crappie.
As stated, many of these areas are accessible by shore anglers. Anglers choosing to fish from a boat, however, have the added advantage of being able to hit several shallow spots on the same lake. This can be advantageous as those areas warming the quickest will usually draw the first waves of fish, so checking various locations will up an angler’s odds for finding active fish.
Easy access to fishing spots is one advantage of spring panfish angling. Another is that the peak bite in some of these spots is often right before dark, meaning a quick end-of-the day trip can often be very productive.
Not only is locating spring panfish usually a pretty simple affair, but so is the presentation that catches these fish. A small jig fished below a slip-bobber tipped with a crappie minnow is a favorite when crappie are the target. A pink/white or glow green 1/32-ounce Gypsi Jig tipped with a small, but very lively crappie minnow is my favorite crappie set-up. Gypsi Jigs have tinsel tails that give off a fish scale flash that really attracts fish. A small split shot added about a foot above the jig completes the system. I like the pink/white color jig combination for daytime fishing, switching to the glow green color during low light conditions.
As stated earlier, a key to this simple set-up is the use of lively bait. An easy way to keep a bunch of crappie minnows fresh and lively is to put them in a good bait container. I use a small Min-O-Life Personal Baitstation for keeping my spring crappie minnows. This is a compact, insulated container with an aerator that does a great job of keeping minnows fresh.
Spring crappie are often suckers for small jigs tipped with lively minnows. Though bluegills will also hit these rigs, I prefer a small Fire-Fly Jig tipped with a waxworm when targeting these fish. Parakeet and pink/white patterned jigs have been good spring ‘gill producers.
Regardless which jig and particular panfish species is chosen, an important factor in making this simple system the most effective is the use of the right bobber. The Super-Pro Lite-Bite Slip Bobbers are awesome tools. They have hi-vis stems that can be seen easily in low light. Not only that, but the bobber stems have Slip-N-Slide grommets allowing line to slide through with minimal resistance helping anglers catch light biters. Their sleek pear shape also helps anglers in bite detection.
The final component of this presentation involves the use of light line that allows small baits to fish naturally. Bionic Panfish Line in 3-pound test is my choice as it handles well and is available in a blue camo color pattern that blends into the blue sky background which can be important for upward feeding crappie and bluegills holding in clear water. .
Spring is here and heading to a likely crappie/bluegill holding spot on some of the year’s first nice days is something I look forward to every year. Using the simple tips above often leads to panfish success for me and can probably make your panfishing successful as well. As always, good luck on the water!
Mike Frisch is a multi-species western Minnesota fishing guide. Check out his regular fishing reports at www.fishingtacklejunction.com
What’s New for 2012?
By Mike Frisch
Every year at this time I get really excited as another open water fishing season gets closer by the day! Every offseason also sees a host of new lures and other “fishy” gadgets being introduced that need to be tested and I’m just the guy to do some of that testing, if the season ever gets here! Here is a look at some new items in the fishing tackle world that I either had a chance to sample late last year or am anxious to sample this coming season.
A hot trend in fishing lures is the addition of several “lifelike” lures that do a great job of mimicking some of the things that fish actually eat. The new Live-Forage Swimbaits are soft plastic minnows designed to look just like real minnows and other baitfish that bigger fish feed on. These baits come in several shiner patterns, perch, bluegill and other patterns that look just like the real thing. In fact, the first time I held one I almost thought I felt it wiggle in my hand! These baits will be dynamite for cast and retrieve fishing for walleyes, bass, panfish, and northern pike.
When it comes to crankbaits, Livetarget’s line of baits are also extremely realistic. Crankbaits in pumpkinseed, crawfish, bluegill, and perch are just some of the patterns available. These baits look just like the real thing and are also designed with rattle components for fish attracting sound and vibration and also have actions fish prefer. Additionally, the Livetarget Frog and Field Mouse are hollow-body baits that can be used to fish over the top of heavy cover for largemouth bass. Not only do they look like real frogs and mice but they are very soft and have sharp hooks which lead to more fish being hooked.
Lifelike lures are hot right now. The fishing rod market has also seen some awesome improvements recently as well. The trend is toward super light and very sensitive rods. Light rods are important to bass anglers who fish big baits because they allow for long fishing days without undue fatigue. Sensitivity is important to bass anglers and maybe even more important to walleye anglers. Last year, I had a chance to test some of the new Carbon X rods for both walleye and bass fishing. I was impressed with the light weight of these rods and with how sensitive they are. Carbon X rods were designed by David Gray an expert fisherman who relied on advice from some of the country’s top guides and tournament anglers. Not only that, but the rods are American made as well.
New lures and new rods can help anglers be more successful this season. Sonar technology is another area that just keeps getting better and better. Humminbird’s Side Imaging took the fishing world by storm a few years ago allowing anglers to “see” picture-like detail of cover off to the boat’s sides. Down Imaging, available on several new sonar models, now takes that technology and points it straight down to give snapshot like detail of what is below the boat. If there is one thing an angler can do to increase his or her fishing success, it is to update their sonar/GPS unit(s) if they haven’t done so recently. This new technology is amazing in what it shows and how easy it is to use as well.
New sonar technology, light and sensitive rods, and lifelike lures and baits are recent innovations that can help us be more successful anglers this coming year. Now if the ice would leave so we could just get out and use some of these advances. Good luck on the water this season!
Mike Frisch is a western Minnesota multi-species fishing guide and tournament angler. Check out his regular fishing reports at www.fishingtacklejunction.com
Heavy jigs for heavy panfish!
By Mike Frisch
This winter I have added tungsten jigs to my ice fishing arsenal. These tiny baits, while small in size, are heavier than lead jigs of the same size. This is advantageous in several ways. The biggest advantage is that these “heavy” jigs are dynamite fish catchers. In fact, I don’t think it’s a coincidence that my best winter of fishing for crappies and bluegills coincides with the first winter I’ve used these jigs!
As said, there are several advantages to tungsten. Panfish like crappies and bluegills typically prefer small baits. This is especially true during mid-winter when these fish can get especially finicky. Mini-sized baits have been used at this time for lots of years, though some problems occurred, problems that using tungsten jigs can now help solve.
First, traditional mini baits are so light that they are very hard to “feel” at the line’s end. This causes problems in knowing when a fish hits and when to set the hook. With a tungsten jig, however, I can still use a tiny-sized jig that the fish will hit, but the jig’s extra weight really aids in bite detection.
Another problem with light baits is that they “hang up” in any slush in the fishing hole and they don’t easily penetrate weed cover that crappies and bluegills often call home. The added weight of tungsten gets the jig through hole slush faster and helps the bait penetrate weeds.
Also, big panfish often appear on sonar in small packs of three or four fish. They hang around for a bit and can often be caught in numbers, provided an angler can get a tiny finesse presentation quickly back down to the fish after catching one. This is one of tungsten’s biggest advantages in this angler’s opinion. One reason I’m catching more and bigger fish this year is because when they come in, I can catch one, unhook it, and quickly get back down to catch another before the pack moves on.
While tungsten jigs do offer several advantages there are some things to consider when using them. First consideration is jig selection. My choice is the new Mooska Tungsten Jig. These tiny heavy weights sink like a rock to get through slush, penetrate vegetation, and quickly plummet into deep water. Plus they come with premium hooks, are coated with a hi-visibility finish, and feature glow-in-the-dark eye balls.
I often start with the mid-sized 1/28-ounce Mooska Jig in fushia pink color pattern. If the fish are especially finicky, I have been dropping down to the miniscule 1/57-ounce size. Fushia pink has been a good color, though I have also had good catches on black onyx, emerald green, and gold nugget colors too.
These jigs can be tipped with a variety of offerings. When the fish are aggressive, I have had success tipping with miniature sized soft plastic baits. The new Impulse Mayfly and Waxy soft baits have both iced aggressive crappies and big bluegills. I really like these baits because, well, the fish like them and, because they are durable so I can spend more time catching fish and less time re-baiting when the bite is on.
When the bite has turned especially finicky, tipping with wax worms and euro-larvae has also been an effective way to fish tungsten jigs to ice magnum panzies.
Regardless what they’re tipped with, tungsten jigs fish best on a durable, yet light line. My choice has quickly become new Bionic Ice Fluorosilk in two-pound test size. This line has the invisibility and higher density of a fluorocarbon line along with the manageability of monofilament. These qualities make it virtually invisible to clear water panfish, facilitate quicker drop rates, and allow it to stay manageable even in cold, harsh conditions.
Fishing in coontail weeds
by Hannah Frisch
My dad and I have been fishing on a small lake in western Minnesota. We have been bass fishing with Northland Slurpies Shakey Worms. I like pumpkinseed and green pumpkin colors the best. At this lake every cast you either get a northern pike, weeds, or a bass but always something. I am the happiest with bass, of course. I do not like northerns at all so when I get those its dad's job to un-hook them. Otherwise I can unhook bass, weeds, panfish, ext. A few days ago I went there and I got a huge 4 pound bass and one less then 1 pound! So you never know what you have.
What I love about fishing in weeds and using shakey worms is its fun and easy to fish with and the bass love it, unfortunaly so do weeds and northerns. We go to this lake on hot, sunnny, nice days just for fun. Sometimes I pre-fish with my dad when he has tournies and its fun but by far I like fishing at this lake for fun way better! My dad is the funnest to fish with because he always makes it fun because most of the time we do great on that lake but every once in awhile we only get northerns but he always makes it fun. I have a lot of fun memeries of this lake and I still have a little bit more time to make more before school starts. So far my summer is doing pretty good and I hope yours has been too!